Mari Smith has been deeply immersed in social media since 2007, but even before social media started to really pick up steam, she was evangelizing the idea of relationship marketing through the Internet and email for almost a decade. In 2008, Fast Company dubbed her “the Pied Piper of the Online World” because of her thought leadership on Facebook and Twitter for business.

Smith’s new book, The New Relationship Marketing, explores how the discipline has changed and why personalizing your brand is so important. As Smith likes to say, there’s no longer B2B or B2C — the new rules are about P2P, or people to people.

In this episode of Behind the Brand you’ll learn some of the tips from Smith’s new book, including how to grow your social media followers, fans and engagement, how to become a curator to establish yourself as an expert, how to leverage OPC (other people’s content) to build real attention and how to keep your content fresh.

Even if you don’t use Instagram, we’re guessing you’ve encountered an Instagram image somewhere on the web — even if you didn’t realize it.

Instagram’s calling card is the photo filter, a digital layer that, when added to a standard photo, gives it the appearance of professional editing. Some filters enhance the colors in a photo, while other dull the light to a soft glow for an aged, vintage appearance.

But while Instagram’s filters revolutionized mobile photo editing, they’re only a portion of the appeal. The mobile app boasts over 50 million users, despite only living in iOS and Android devices. Instagram launched on Android just this year — it quickly earned 5 million downloads in six days.

Its success caught the eye of the most valuable social network in the world. Facebook acquired Instagram in April for $1 billion. Although we’ve only just begun to witness Facebook’s plans for the photo sharing app, the social giant recently launched its own filter-friendly photo app, dubbed Facebook Camera.

Instagram has surely come a long way, business-wise, since co-founders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger introduced the app in 2010. But on the whole, the app has remained simple, straightforward and social since its inception.

We’re here to share the Instagram basics, whether you’re new to the network or need some additional tips. Better hurry, though — Instagram has undergone such changes in the past few months, who knows what else is in store.

We’d love to learn about your Instagram experiences. How do you use the app? Can you share any helpful advice or anecdotes for new users? Any predictions for the future of Instagram? Please share in the comments below.

1. Register / Setup

Instagram has always been an almost exclusively mobile platform. Therefore, you must download the iPhone or Android app to your device in order to register an Instagram account.

Instagram accounts are public by default, but you may elect to create a private account. In that case, only users who you approve may follow you and view your photos. Head to your profile tab and scroll down to “Privacy.” There, you may select to make photos private.

Once registered, change your profile picture and edit your profile information, which includes a brief 150-character bio and a website. You may also edit profile information here.

2. Notifications

Since Instagram doesn’t have a web-hosted feed of photos, you’ll be doing most of your browsing on mobile. For that reason, you may choose to enrich your mobile experience by setting up push notifications.

Depending on your level of comfort, enable the following push notifications:

• When a user likes or comments on one of your photos.
• When a user @mentions you in a comment.
• When your photo is posted to the Popular page.

To control the notifications on your iOS device, exit the Instagram app and access the Settings location. From there, find Instagram in the Notification Center and configure your app preferences.

Android Instagram users must change notification settings from the app itself. Head to Settings > Edit Profile > Push Notifications.

If you choose not to enable external notifications, Instagram will still keep you apprised of your account activity in-app. New user and comment notifications appear in the News section of the app (see above-left), which you can access via the navigation panel — the icon looks like a speech bubble with a heart in it.

3. Connect to Social

Again, because Instagram is a relatively isolated social app that lives inherently on mobile, it’s important to connect social accounts to get the most out of the experience. You may choose to link Instagram to your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Tumblr, Flickr, Mixi and Weibo accounts (the last two apply only to iPhone users in Japan and China, respectively).

To connect social accounts, head to the Profile Tab > Edit Sharing Settings, then choose the network you wish to connect.

Each time you upload a photo to Instagram, you’ll have the option to share to each of the social networks you’ve enabled, or to none. If you choose to share to no social networks, the photo will post only to Instagram, viewable only by those users who follow you on the app. (More on social sharing later.)

Here are some examples of how Instagram has affected, and in some cases, revolutionized social media:

4. Add a Photo

The bread and butter of Instagram is, obviously, sharing photos. Before you explore much else, I suggest you test it out.

Click the blue camera button in the center of your Instagram navigation panel. By default, Instagram activates your device’s camera, so you may either choose to snap a picture then and there, or choose a picture already saved to your phone. If you choose the latter, click the double-square button on the lower-left of the screen.

If you choose a photo from your camera roll, keep in mind that Instagram sizes photos to perfect squares. Therefore, if you select a photo that was originally taken horizontally (landscape), you’ll have to crop some portions of the image — either that, or live with the default black border.

5. Filters / Borders

Once you’ve either taken or selected a photo, a set of tree icons appears beneath the image. These are the 17 famous Instagram filters which add different pre-determined layers to your photos, and give the effect that you’ve altered or professionally edited them. Many filters add “vintage” effects, which have certainly pleased many a hipster.

Scroll through the filters and experiment with the best one for that particular image. You’ll soon find that certain filters work well with specific types of photos, whether outdoor panoramas, personal portraits, odd perspectives, intense colors, etc.

Each filter also has its own associated border. For instance, the Earlybird filter adds rounded edges to your photo, and Kelvin adds a rough, sandpapery frame. You may, however, choose to forego borders altogether by tapping the square “frame” on the upper-left of the edit screen.

Check out these photos, which all take full advantage of Instagram filters:

View As Slideshow »

1. Circle, Indonesia

Courtesy of @bogieeryawan

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2. Skyline, Paris

 

Courtesy of @natenurse

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3. Architecture in Belgrade

 

Courtesy of @iconomaque

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4. Louvre Museum, Paris

 

Courtesy of @iconomaque

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5. CN Tower, Toronto

 

Courtesy of @monicarooney

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6. Urban Butterfly, New York City

 

Courtesy of @johndeguzman

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7. Chrysler Building and 42nd Street, New York City

 

Courtesy of @johndeguzman

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8. Hospital Facade, Asturias

 

Courtesy of @alemor73

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9. White Facade, Gijón

 

Courtesy of @alemor73

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10. Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires

 

Courtesy of @argen

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11. Bicycle, Florence

 

Courtesy of @birgittebrondsted

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12. Wet Street, Florence

 

Courtesy of @birgittebrondsted

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13. Renault 4, Graz

 

Courtesy of @darkolabor

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14. Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, Ipanema

 

Courtesy of @giuseppeamado

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15. Skyline, Goiânia

 

Courtesy of @giuseppeamado

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16. Big Ben, London

 

Courtesy of @jeera

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17. Millenium Bridge, London

 

Courtesy of @jeera

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18. Fontainebleau and Hilton, Miami

 

Courtesy of @theunknownchef

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19. Obelisk, Buenos Aires

 

Courtesy of @jorgegobbi

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20. Connection, Germany

 

Courtesy of @monstropolis

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21. City of Zagreb, Croatia

 

Courtesy of @notanotherbarbie

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22. Quincy Market, Boston

 

Courtesy of @rickbellitti

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23. Millennium Park, Chicago

 

Courtesy of @sixftosunshine

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24. Skyline, Los Angeles

 

Courtesy of @thegreenpotato

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25. Skyline, San Francisco

 

Courtesy of @zhazha

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6. Tilt-Shift

Another celebrated editing option on Instagram, tilt-shift allows you to selectively focus certain planes of the photo, almost as if you were using a special DSLR lens. Tilt-shift gives the appearance of an altered depth of field, which can make smartphone snaps look stunning when used wisely.

Experiment with the tilt-shift feature by tapping the button above the photo that looks like a water droplet. From there, choose either the horizontal bar or the circle. The bar adds a thin field of focus across your image, which you may tap and move up and down, or two-finger tap and swivel to rotate. Or move the circle tilt-shift across your photo for a more focused effect.

You’ll find that tilt-shift elevates many photos to a professional (and sometimes artistic) standard. But other times, tilt-shift can seem out of place. Use your best judgment and artistic know-how to determine the effect you’re looking for.

Here’s why Android users got excited:
 

7. Other Options

Before saving your photo, test a few other edit options. Tap the sun icon on the lower-left of the edit screen to apply the Lux effect — essentially, an auto-enhance button that enriches the colors in your image.

Additionally, the curved arrow to the right of the frame option rotates your image, and the next camera icon flips your camera front-facing so you can take a picture of yourself.

8. Share

Once your photo is ready to go, click the green checkmark. This brings you to the social sharing screen.

If you wish, add a caption explaining what you’ve photographed, an anecdote, or really anything your social networks would enjoy. Feel free to add category hashtags and @mention people, especially if you plan to share via Twitter. The caption will be the text of the tweet, and the app will file hashtags and @mentions accordingly.

If you’ve enabled location services, you even have the option to tag where you took the photo.

Then, depending on what networks you’ve linked to Instagram, toggle the accounts to share across those platforms.

The way your photo appears when posted depends on the style of the social network to which you post. For instance, if you share to Twitter (see left), Instagram tweets a link to your photo, along with the text you choose as the caption. Instagram photos appear natively on Twitter.com, which means you don’t even have to click the link to view someone’s photo — you may simply expand the tweet to view directly. When sharing to Facebook, your Instagram photo will appear in the news feed with the attached caption.

You may also choose to retroactively share the Instagram photos you’ve already posted. Head to your profile, then select a photo. To share, click the icon on the lower-right of the screen — it has three dots. Choose the “Share post” option and select one of your networks. Or choose “copy URL” to share manually.

At this time, you may only share another user’s photo if A) you use iOS 5.0, and B) you tweet the photo. Android users do not have this feature. Follow the steps to enable this capability here.

Browse some great Instagram photos here:
 

9. Follow Users

Now you’re ready to find users to follow. Chances are many of your social media friends are already using Instagram, and on top of that, a bunch of celebrities are, too.

Head to your profile tab and select “Find Friends.” You may search for friends who have connected their Facebook and Twitter accounts to Instagram, or you may input your phone’s contact list to generate further connections. Or search by name, username or tag (e.g. “#skydiving”).

Finally, Instagram does a great job curating suggested users and trending photos. Head to the Popular page (see right), denoted by the star on your navigation panel, and peruse photos that strike your fancy.

Once you’ve followed some users, you’ll begin to see their photos appear in your news feed, accessed by tapping the icon that looks like a house on the left side of the navigation panel. Alongside user photos, you’ll see people who have liked or commented on the photo. Add your own two cents!

Learn more about interesting Instagramers to follow here:
 

10. Getting Around the Web Barrier

As you’ve probably surmised by now, Instagram’s web presence is quite prohibitive. It relies on social integration for navigation, sharing and discovery, however clunky the process may be.

In its Help Center, Instagram admits, “While we’re still developing our web presence at instagram.com, we encourage you to check out third-party sites that have been created using the official Instagram API.”

It highlights sites like Webstagram, Flipboard and Prinstagram for viewing photos on the web and printing photos off the web, among others.

Many users wish they could access their Instagram news feeds on the web, similar to Facebook. It stands that we’ll likely see a bit more web integration now that Facebook owns Instagram, but for now, Facebook’s focus is primarily mobile. Instagram may have to wait. Until then, enjoy the app and get filtering!

In addition to Instgram’s suggested third-party apps, give these a go:

Aritcle by Mashable

Google officially opened up its AdWords for video product to all businesses on Monday with a new program offering $50 million in free advertising to small businesses.

The company announced on Monday that it is offering $75 in free advertising for 500,000-plus businesses. (The originalpost on the offer set the number at 500,000, which would come out to $37.5 million in total. A YouTube rep says the 500,000 isn’t a set number.)

Introduced in September, AdWords for video is based on the same technology as AdWords, but is applied to video on the Google-owned YouTube. While with AdWords you pay for clicks and set budgets via bids, with AdWords for video, you only pay when someone watches your ad. The program was actually opened up for all businesses in December, but Monday is the official launch, which Google is helping to publicize with the $75 offer.

Those interested in taking Google up on the offer can click here.

The AdWords for video program is Google’s latest attempt to monetize YouTube, which draws 800 million unique visitors a month. Google doesn’t disclose financial data about YouTube, but analysts have estimated that the site’s revenues were in the $1 billion range in 2011.

Image courtesy of Flickr, tschein

With over 135 million users, 59% of which are located outside of the United States and with 75 of the Fortune 100 companies using the network for marketing and recruiting purposes, LinkedIn has become a critical platform for building, connecting with, and growing your personal and professional networks.

As the leading business social network, LinkedIn offers the chance to connect with professionals all around the world and from all industry backgrounds. But how do you convert networks into customers, and ‘likes’ into sales?

1. Learn from your peers

Successful marketing is all about listening to what your market needs. The LinkedIn Groups feature provides a space where you can discuss issues with others in your industry and learn from their advice. You can bounce ideas off industry experts and stay informed on new developments. You also have an opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in a certain industry/area allowing you to build relationships with current and prospective customers in a more organic and credible fashion.

2. Build on your niche

It doesn’t matter how specific your company’s product or service, LinkedIn allows you to connect with companies or individuals by industry, company size, geographic location, and more. By targeting your network-building, you are able to focus your time on building relationships that count.

3. Use Company Status Updates

You can post the latest news, product updates, videos and promotions on yourCompany Profile and instantly learn how it is being received with likes, comments and shares. Just like with any community, make sure your content strategy is relevant, adds value and promotes discussion. Use feedback to adjust your posting frequency or alter your content based on what is popular or what is missing.

4. Ask your audience

LinkedIn provides a channel to your audience, but communication doesn’t have to be one-way. You can use your Company Profile to ask customers what they think, and engage with issues they might face. Asking for feedback can provide a wealth of market information from your core audience. If your Company Profile is too limiting, consider setting up a group or groups that meet a particular need among your audience.

You can also use LinkedIn’s polling feature. LinkedIn Polls is just like any other polling service: everyone can ask any query, include possible answers (as much as five) as well as select how much time it’s going to run. There is an ability to share content out via your social networks or upload it on your website to acquire the highest possible voting power. Analytics data is what’s valuable here: you can break down voters by age, gender and even seniority.

5. Use LinkedIn Ads

If used correctly, LinkedIn Ads can offer a low-cost alternative to traditional advertising. Because of the number of LinkedIn accounts (135 million worldwide), each with detailed profile information, LinkedIn Ads can specifically target your demographic by industry, geographic location, seniority, age, or by LinkedIn Group in a way few other channels can.

6. LinkedIn Recommendations: Give Generously

Your LinkedIn profile might look great, and you may have hundreds of connections, but in a crowded market what is going to make your company stand out? How will potential clients and customers know to choose you above your competition? The answer goes back to one of the basics of marketing: a positive recommendation by others is worth a hundred times what you will ever say about yourself. The secret to attracting great LinkedIn recommendations is to offer them yourself. Businesses, whether suppliers, clients or partners, are far more likely to give you a positive recommendation if you offer one first.

7. LinkedIn SEO

When people search for your industry or product, how are you going to come out on top? Just following the basics, such as making sure your profile is complete and accurate can help, but spending a bit of time over the keywords in the Specialties section is also important for driving traffic. You can also customize your URL to give your company’s name rather than a sequence of numbers, which can help search engines to find you.

8. Enrich your profile with LinkedIn applications

You’ve driven traffic to your LinkedIn page with targeted ads, great networking, and an informative profile, but what now? You’ve got so much more great information that will benefit your customers, but how are you going to tell them about it?LinkedIn apps can help, giving you the ability to add your blog to your profile, upload presentations, add polls and your Amazon reading list, collaborate with document sharing, and many other ways of enriching your profile to help it stand out and offer new ways to engage.

9. Meet like-minded people at industry events

The LinkedIn events tool is a great way to easily search for relevant events (physical events, webinars, workshops, roundtables, etc) where you can meet your peers. LinkedIn search will display events related to your network connections as well as industry and geographic location, both past and present. Utilize this feature to extend your network face-to-face.

10. Integrate your LinkedIn presence into your other properties

Prominently display “Follow Us on LinkedIn” button on your other social properties to help grow your network.

You can also add “LinkedIn Share” button to your other properties to make it easy for people to share your content and help it travel father.

The “Recommend” button can be prominently displayed on your website to give visitors to website a little bit of a nudge to recommend you on LinkedIn. The recommend comes in two formats: one for the company page itself and also one for the products and services page.

11. Measure your success

Make sure to track your performance as you go and make changes to your strategy based on that data.
On your Company Page’s Analytics tab, you can now see how many LinkedIn members are visiting your Company Page and how many of them are following your company. You can also see what industries, functions and companies these professionals come from as well as track how they are interacting with your Careers Tab or Products and Services Tab, how many are clicking on your promotional banners, and how many choose to contact employees at your company. And for every one of these data slices, you can compare yourself against similar companies to benchmark your performance.

Just recently LinkedIn also launched a brand new Group Statistics dashboard that delivers unique insights into groups: demographics, growth, and activity.

LinkedIn can seem daunting at first. If you think of your social media marketing as an extension of your traditional marketing, you can start to think of ways to integrate your standard practices into your LinkedIn networking. You don’t have to start from scratch; much of your marketing media, from videos to presentations and documents, can be shared through your profile and used to reach new, targeted audiences, especially those you may have trouble reaching through traditional marketing methods.

Also read: 5 LinkedIn Campaigns Worth a Look

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With nearly 55% growth expected this year, online video will be the fastest-growing ad format in 2012, eMarketer estimates. One factor behind video’s high growth rate is its relatively low base of spending; data from media buying solutions…

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Click Image to View Video Dehesa Charter School Digital Handshake 7 New Facebook Changes Impacting Businesses  Facebook pages are changing. And that means your business strategy will need to change. In fact, Facebook has made many new changes that will impact anyone with a Facebook page. These changes emerged from Facebook’s fMC 2012 Conference. The overall message was that Facebook is looking at pages as a “mission control” point (which is where the MC comes from in the conference title)… Click on Title to Read More

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Clients, Associates and Friends, It’s hard to believe Passover and Easter are already almost here.  Where has the year gone? As you know, the first quarter has just ended.  Is your marketing on track to meet your sales goals for the year, or is it time to shift gears?   Please feel free to give us a call to arrange a complementary marketing consultation.Visit our Youtube.com/WeTubeU1 channel for all of our latest videos and our social media sites for great information.   Happy Passover and Easter to you and your family, Lane Elliott and the Staff at WeTubeU

Contact: Lane@WeTubeU.com www.WeTubeU.com Lane Elliott 858-391-8430 Office 858-869-5025 C ell

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